House Kilgore (non-canon)
The highly-elite 3153rd Aerospace-Cav unit (the Ravens Wild) was one of the Second Republic central government’s Mobile Response Units, a tightly-knit mechanized corps of starships, dropships, gunships, and elite infantry. Detached to the rebellious world of Cadavus during the early stages of the Fall, the 3153rd put down many local rebellions with it’s lightning-warfare “death from above” strategy. When the Second Republican central government collapsed, leaving the 3153rd stranded and purposeless, the comrades-in-arms became nobles dedicated to preserving stability and order. House Kilgore’s advanced tactics and equipment helped it expand at meteoric proportions, using the spoils of battle to enrich its growth, and rarely losing an engagement. As the Justinians, Decados, Van Gelder, al-Malik and Alecto forces swarmed over Cadavus, however, the unit became outmatched and retreated through the jumpgate. Over the years, they have forgotten their mandate to preserve stability and order, becoming wanderers, nomads, and mountain people at best, roving robber barons at worst. As much of their equipment has been lost or destroyed, only the highest-up in the house have access to the starships and skimmers, but the old division’s motto of “death from above” has not been forgotten, and the members of the house have developed a reverence for height and the sky, and now tend to settle in mountainous terrain, from which they stage raids on the undefended plains folk around in order to maintain enough money to survive. The house is renowned for its mastery of military strategy and even the most petty bandits that the house musters have been known to use quite sophisticated tactics on the battlefield. Indeed, the house’s penchant for unexpected, utterly devastating hit-and-run tactics, utilizing shock troops and outriders, as well as airborne units, to the utmost effect, makes it a quite similar foe to the Hazat, although much less powerful. House Kilgore has indeed fought both with and against Hazat forces on many occasions, and each have learned from the other. In fact, part of the reason so many Kilgores have managed to claim mountainous regions on the Hawkwood worlds is that the Hawkwoods welcome the practice of fighting a foe so similar to the Hazat. The House’s symbol is a diving raven with a pack of thunderbolts in its claws, with two strange symbols (spades) in the background. The colors of the house are green, blue, and brown. Though many members of the house are little better than robber barons leading tribes of nomads, they all believe quite strongly in warrior honor and some are quite chivalrous, especially the ones that have managed to claim land in high places. On the whole, however, their nomadic tendencies make them less likely to worry about the damage they wreak, and more likely to attack indiscriminately. House Kilgore has some presence or other, even just a pack of roaming bandits, on almost every world, though it is most powerful on Bannockburn. It also has some land on Leminkainen, Gwynneth, Ravenna, Delphi, Rampart, Aragon, Grail, Shaprut and De Moley. It was recently dislodged from Tethys, Byzantium Secundus, and Cadavus in the Emperor Wars. Members of House Kilgore tend to be of Dendrist stock, mainly an amalgamation of Mexican, African, and American, though they are not amazingly discriminating in who they take to wive, and so adopt the racial characteristics of whatever region they haunt. They all tend, however, to have large flat noses and small ears. An ancient tradition forbids them from keeping any hair at all, and many of them do indeed shave regularly and keep their hair short, though some have abandoned this practice and let their hair grow out. One tradition that is still almost universally in force, however, is that of facial and body painting before battle. Category:Minor Houses